County program helps residents’ clean up their criminal records

Omar is being pre-screened for the Clean Slate program at Rubicon Legal in Richmond. On Saturday, he was joined by 40 others from the community who are petitioning to have their criminal records dismissed in front of a judge in June.

Mike H. had been waiting for half an hour to hear his name called by an intake counselor at the Rubicon Legal and Economic Service Center in Richmond. But he was in no rush. He had been waiting for over 30 years for this; Saturday was the closest he’d ever been to getting his criminal record dismissed.

“I don’t want to be no felon anymore,” he said, “and right now, this is the best thing I can do.”

Mike, along with some 40 others, waited his turn to find out if he was eligible for a California law that cleans up criminal records. For the third time Saturday morning, Rubicon hosted a pre-screening clinic for Clean Slate, a practice that provides free legal services to people with criminal records.

Word spread fast about the pre-screenings in Richmond. At the first screening last month, only one person showed up; at the second on April 9, four made it; on Saturday, the line was out the door.